Tag: pota

Night on Bald Mountain

This trip was to Cloudland Canyon State Park located in NW Georgia. It is a very nice campground about a 2 hour drive from the home QTH. I got at the campground Tuesday, around 2000Z and quickly set up. Radio du jour was the Yaesu FT710 Field which is currently under review. The antenna was my 28.5’ random wire vertical. I am also trying out my Maestro Evolve III laptop along with HAMRS Pro software.

Band conditions were a little off so I started on FT8. It was slow going but I made 15 contacts before the new day. After supper, I went back to FT8 to try to get 15 more contacts before the storms hit.

The whole time I had moderate winds and some pretty good gusts. Right before the storms I lowered the antenna and put a garbage bag over it to keep it dry. The antenna is weather sealed, but the push up pole when it gets wet, is a real pain to dry out.

How about the FT710? In general, I like the radio. I think it’s a keeper. It is fun to use and performs well. It has a few niggles that I camp about but I like it. I talk more about the issues on my YouTube video. I will say that this radio is very different than the first one I got. The first radio was probably released too early and still had growing pains. This radio just feels better. In general I feel this radio and the IC-7300 are about equal. Either one will work well.

Evolve III. This is a pleasant surprise. I paid about $122 for it and for a field laptop it does well. Last night I ran WSJT (FT8) and AcLog without any issues. I was also running. BktTimeSync with a GPS receiver in the background. It is a little slow to start up but once it’s running, it does fine. I run it with a Logitech M310 mouse.

I am also trying out HAMRS Pro. I have it on Windows, Mac, IOS (iPhone, iPad) and they all sync up. I will talk more about HAMRS in a follow up article.

This is Wednesday morning and I am going to try to do some CW before I pack up and go home. Bands conditions are so-so at the moment. I will break my normal procedure are hunt a while to try out some of HAMRS features.

I only managed to make one CW contact hunting and activating. I could tell I was getting out as I showed up on HamAlert. Here is a QSO map of the activation.

Screenshot

If I remember correctly, I had issues last time I was at Cloudland. The important thing was I got out for a while and I had fun. It isn’t always about the numbers. Below is a video about the activation and my thoughts on the FT710. Stay tuned es 73 Scott

Moving things around

Its been a busy 2025 so far. I have been involved with MARS and that by itself has kept me occupied. I decided to change the the shack around a little to better meet my needs. I pulled the IC-7300 out of the line up and replaced it with a Kenwood TS-890s. The IC-7610 was shifted to the left which is now pretty much dedicated to MARS stuff. The TS-890s will be for everything else. I have both of my paddles hooked up to the 890 along with my Heil PR-781 microphone. I haven’t had a chance to use the 890 much but it is one heck of a radio. It is a very enjoyable radio. I am hoping to get back into CW this year. Last year was not a good year in general for radio and so far this is looking better. I want to get my code speed up. Rounding out the shack lineup is an IC-9700 for FM/DSTAR stuff.

So what about the IC-7300? That has gone back to being a field radio. That is where I enjoy it most. I also have a Yaesu FT-710 Field that is my other field radio. Over the years, I have found that I prefer big radios with better controls when I am in the field. Both radios can go down to QRP levels and if needed I can crank the power up to match band conditions. I find myself operating in the 20-35 watt range mostly and these radios can do that all day long even with digital modes like FT8.

I still have an Icom IC-705 and an Elecraft KX2 for the occasional day trip. If I am at a park, I am in my truck and I can carry a big radio 40 feet to a picnic table. I do like my little radios, but they do not see as much use as the big ones.

I have a new project I am working on. I am building a T3FD antenna to use with ALE.

Mine will be 177′ long and it will be 90 degrees from my OCF dipole. That will give me an antenna oriented north-south (OCF) and one east-west(T3FD). In order to have the space for the antenna I had take down a few trees.

After the tree removal it looked like this.

During the last windstorm one nearby pine blew down creating a widowmaker.

These are fairly dangerous and I had to be very careful. The break was about 6′ off of the ground. Even though it looks straightforward, when the tree came down it broke into 3 pieces and actually fell back toward the stump. It was good I had an escape route planned.

The antenna will go over the top of the house, and attach to a red maple.

It will take me a couple of months to gather all the supplies I need for the antenna. Being on a fixed income doesn’t always fit into the “I want it now!” mindset.

As I write this I am recovering from a stomach bug, which can lay you out for 1 or 2 days. Another project I am working on is a mount for my Diamond RHM12 antenna. I hope everyone is doing well, that this year is better than the last, and I get the opportunity to work you. 73 de Scott

Changes

Life is full of changes. Some are expected and some are not. Over the past couple of weeks I have had some changes for the good. One is that 2025 is shaping up to be a better year than 2024. My wife and I had some trials and tribulations which hampered my radio-activity. We had deaths, surgeries, and a few other health issues that slowed us down. This year, things have appeared to clear up and I am already enjoying more amateur radio activity.

To start off, I have had another shack shake-up. In a prior post I had my SPE Expert 1.5K FA up for sale or trade. It is a great amp but I needed an amp that would do MARS and SHARES frequencies so I ended up with an SPE 2.0 K FA. When I get back from Hamcation, I had a trade offer. My amp for a TS-890s. I have never owned a Kenwood HF radio so I thought I would give it a go. The trade went smoothly.

Before installing it in the shack I added the 270 Hz Roofing Filter and while I was inside, I did the MARS modification. I do not intend to use this radio for MARS, but in pinch, I am ready. My intention is to use the radio for fun and CW. I located it front and center on my desk. The IC-7610 was moved to the left which is where I set up for MARS operation. The 7610 plays very well for MARS.

As you can see in the above photo, I am using a Windows machine for radio control and logging. I really enjoy my Mac for everything else but when it comes to things radio, Windows machines are easier.

This weekend was the ARRL DX contest and the CW bands were crowded. this gave me a good opportunity to test the TS-890s. It performed very well.

The scale on the waterfall is 5 KHz on either side of the frequency. I had the 270 Hz Roofing Filter and a filter bandwidth of 250 Hz. The TS-890 easily blocked an adjacent S9+10 signal less than 500 Hz away. Even at less than 200 Hz away I could easily copy the target signal though there was some ringing. That is pretty impressive.

I am hoping to get back into CW this year. I made about 10 POTA contacts this morning with the TS-890s. It is a very pleasant experience. The TS-890s has more buttons and controls than my IC-7610 and even though I think the 7610’s ergonomics are great, The TS-890s’ is better. The 890 is a big radio and it is heavy. It’s built like a brick…

Tools of the trade for CW are my Begali Magnetic Signature and Sculpture Swing.

I joined SKCC last year but didn’t do much because of stuff. I hope to do better this year. A lofty goal I have in mind is to get my CW above 25 wpm. I think I am close. I need to practice. Hopefully this year will allow that to happen.

I hope everybody else is doing well and I hope to hear you on the air. I have a couple of camping trips coming up which should be me and the key trips. The IC-7300? It has gone back to being a field radio. Which is one arena it really shines. 73 – de Scott

Hamcation 2025

This was my first Hamcation and it was a lot of fun. Lots of people, lots of food and lots of ham gear. I only spent one day there, but it was a fun-filled, packed. day.

One of the highlights of my day was the Begali Booth. Up until this point, I had 4 Begali paddles in my collection. Each one purchased directly from Begali and each one through Bruna. Buying a Begali key/paddle is like being adopted into a family. That’s how Begali treats their customers. I finally got to meet Bruna in person.

They had many of their paddles there — so many to choose from. I like to dabble with straight keys and my preference being a cootie key since they have the same back and forth motion as a paddle. Bruna had a Sculpture Swing and after sending a couple of characters, I was smitten, and I was lucky to get the last one, the display model. I also got to meet Bruna’s husband Roberto who packaged up my prize for me.

I hope to get a review done on the Sculpture Swing in the near future.

Diamond Antennas, one of my favorite brands for mobile/portable VHF/UHF antennas has a new portable HF antenna for the US market. I have seen this antenna on European website but this was the first time I have seen it in the U.S. It is a portable HF/UHF/VHF antenna that covers 7-440 MHz. With optional coils, it also covers the 3.5 and 1.8 bands.

The screwdriver portion of the antenna is 15″ long and the 1.8 MHz coil is 17″. For comparison the yellow packaging is 21″. This will be a great antenna for POTA/SOTA. I can’t wait to get this on the air.

Kenwood had a teaser for their new VHF/UHF mobile. Looks like it might be out by the end of the year. Here is a shot of a non-working model.

It looks pretty cool. I am mainly an HF guy and I stopped there to look at the TS-890. That is my current dream radio. I brought one of my amps down there to trade but the stars were not aligned. I have a nice lightly used SPE 1.5K FA up for sale or trade. I would like to get a TS-890 and may consider a FTDX101MP. I would also consider an Elecraft KPA/KAT500. It’s a great amp but it doesn’t do MARS so I had to get another amp that would (SPE 2.0K FA).

While cruisng the swap building, I came across this book:

I bought on a whim and Grayson autographed the book for me. I may never build anything out of tubes, but I thought the book would be a fun read.

I got to talk to a lot of people while I was there. I talked to one guy there that was looking to get a radio after being absent from amateur radio for many years. He was thinking about getting an IC-705. I asked him if he had any other radios and he said no. I suggested he look into getting an IC-7300 first. The 7300 is still my “if i could only have one HF radio” radio. Many times new or returning hams opt for the QRP route, not knowing how frustrating QRP can be for the less experienced. For a first or only radio I recommend a 100 watt radio. You can always turn a 100 watt radio down to 5 watts but a 5 watt radio is already at its max. A lot of times when camping, I am running CW at 20 watts.

It was fun seeing all the stuff, meeting people, and bringing home a few things. Hope to see you at the next one. 73- de Scott

Yaesu FT710 – Second Impression

Here is my first look at my second FT710. I will start with the settings I changed and then go over the list of issues I had with the first one. The first FT710 had the original firmware as it was new at the time. This one has several updates under its belt.

Settings/Changes

  1. T710,Taped Power Cables every couple of inches to reduce tangles.
  2. Added Anderson Power Poles to the power cable
  3. Turned off 3DSS
  4. Set waterfall span to 5K
  5. Set waterfall speed to slow2
  6. Set color to 6
  7. Set level to +3.5 dB, peak to level 2 and contrast to level 14
  8. Set tuner type to EXT
  9. Set Tuner/Lin Port to Linear
  10. Set keyer to Elekey B, repeat interval to 3 seconds, Weight to 2.7 and Pitch to 700Hz
  11. QSK – on
  12. Set MyCall to KK4Z and call time to 3 seconds
  13. Set Mic gain to 60 and Processor level to 65
  14. CW mode on
  15. Meter Detector to Peak
  16. Receive Audio SSB – Treble +3 Middle +5 Bass -2
  17. Receive Audio CW Treble +3 Middle +1 Bass -3
  18. Parametric Equalizer (processor on/off the same)
    1. E1 – Freq 300 Bandwidth 10 level -3
    2. E2 – Freq 1300 Bandwidth 2 level 10
    3. E3 – Freq 2400 Bandwidth 1 level 10
  19. Needs a 32gb (no larger) SD card. Scandisk Ultra SDHC UHS-I 32 GB works
  20. Mouse. Seems the only wireless mouse you can use with the radio is a Logitech M310. It does not appear to be in production anymore. I had to buy a renewed one. I got the mouse working and I think it is a good addition to the radio. It does make changing parameters easier and if you click on a signal in the waterfall, the radio will QSY to that frequency. I wasn’t sure how I was going to like using a mouse, but I think I like it.

Here are the issues from the first radio:

  1. Could not use LDG tuner with the radio — it was a surreptitious route to get a tuner to work. I started out with a different tuner, an LDG IT-100 which uses a different cable. I coupled the tuner with an LDG IC-108 cable. The cable is not listed as usable on the FT710. The other twist was setting the Tuner/Lin Port “Linear” instead of Ext Tuner. This little tidbit is not shared by Yaesu, I had to find it on an internet forum. To tune the antenna you push the tune button on the tuner (not on the radio) to get things going. This is where Icom shines. They have been using the same interface at least as far back as the IC-718 and the IC-706. A tuner I bought for my IC-706 MKIIG still works on my IC-7300 with the same cable and I can use the tune button on the radio. The other downside is you cannot use the FH-2 Remote pad when using the auto tuner as it uses the same port at the back of the radio. In addition, you cannot run an amplifier and an auto tuner at the same time. Icom has separate ports for the tuner and amplifier.
  2. No Portable Zero Rails – I use rails on all of my portable radios. Portable Zero now makes rails for the FT710.
  3. Could not use RT systems software – it took Yaesu until July 2023 to get the info to RT Systems. I have RT Systems software for almost all of my radios. RT systems software works fine now.
  4. Auto Notch — I don’t remember auto notch working on the first radio I had. It works now.
  5. Cannot edit/see QMB – another place where Icom shines. I can go into the memo pad (Icom’s QMB) and edit the entries.
  6. RJ45 mic connecter instead of Foster (Icom)- Foster connectors are more durable than the RJ45.
  7. Key clicks in the headphones using CW – They are still there but less pronounced. The CW is harsh sounding and can be fatiguing to listen to over long periods.
  8. WSJT software would change modes when switching bands
  9. Waterfall is not averaging like Kenwood’s or Icom’s. It has to be adjusted manually (and sometimes frequently)
  10. Filter only has 2 selections vs 3 for the Icom. Narrow which only has predefined values and wide which is adjustable. The Icoms have 3 selections each fully adjustable. Icoms can also adjust the filter shape (soft or sharp. The FT710 has contour and APF. Contour is like a soft notch filter and APF boosts the center frequency like a CW signal. Icoms have dedicated controls on the front panel while the Yaesu has a mix of front panel controls and menu items.

Even with all of its quirks, I like the little radio. Yaesu appears to have fixed most of its problems, at least enough to make the radio fun. I still believe this radio compares well with the IC-7300 and either will serve you well. If I could only have one, I would still go with the Icom. The Icom has a lower noise floor, the settings (ergonomics) are better, and it hears as well as the Yaesu (at least in my side by side test). For CW again, the edge goes to Icom. However, the Yaesu has its pluses. The FT710 has a slightly better audio quality let’s say more fidelity but in CW the tone is more harsh than the Icom. The Yaesu has a better attenuator with 3-steps instead of one. With the Yaesu, you can transmit CW while in SSB mode. I like the filter window on the FT710. I can see how changing the filter affects the signal.

Later this week I have Portable Zero rails coming. They are pricy, but I find them very useful on my field radios. I also have a Maestro Evolve III coming which I will setup software for the FT710 on it. I hope to have everything ready for Winter Field Day.

I think a major difference between the IC-7300 and the FT710 is settings. Yaesu gives you settings on top of settings, while the Icom gives you what you need. If you like to tinker and tweak, the FT710 is your radio. If you want to get down and operate, then Icom is the way to go. Out of the box, I had to do far less setting up with the Icoms.

Compared to the FTDX10. I owned an FTDX10 for about 18 months. If I bought one today, the cost would be about $600 more than the FT710. I’m not sure the FTDX10 is that much better than the 710. My primary use for this radio is for the field. More to follow es 73 de Scott

Deja Vu all over again

The 2025 promises to be a better year. I am looking forward to being more radio-active. I am also looking forward to more blogging and more vlogging. I am hoping to undertake some long term reviews. I have two in mind. One is going to be a Maestro Evolve III laptop computer. I know a lot of hams use them so I thought I would give one a whirl. My other project is going to be another Yaesu FT710, this time the field version. I last owned one about a year and a half ago, I traded it off after a few months of use. The radio was going through some growing pains and was probably not ready for prime time. My general thoughts back then was the radio was a likable and fun radio and compared favorably to my IC-7300. I thought I would give it another look and a fair shake since it’s been through a few firmware updates since its release in 2022.

I am hoping this FT-710 is more polished than my first one. I can see at least two firmware updates since my last 710 and the manual has been updated. Hopefully Yaesu cured those early issues. I picked up the radio yesterday. I plan on using it as a field radio for POTA activations as well as for Winter Field Day and Field day with my club. In general the IC-7300 and the FT-710 are comparable, each with their pluses and minuses. Whichever brand you are married to, either radio will probably serve you equally well. One reason I got this radio is there are many members in my club that use Yaesu radios. Having familiarity with the Yaesu system allows me to help them with their radio problems.

My initial thoughts are similar to the ones I had a year and a half ago. It is a likable radio and it has a certain fun factor. I am going through my past blog posts and YouTube videos to make list of things I found with my first FT710 and see if they have been corrected. I will also post the settings I changed on the new radio to suit me.

I like big radios when I go camping or even on POTA day trips. I like having the controls I use handy and if band conditions get ugly, I can turn up the power. I normally run 20-25 watts for CW and digital. The rare times I am on SSB, I may go as high as 50 watts. Another plus with a big radio is I can run digital modes all day long and it will not overheat the radio. I do have a couple of QRP radios and I do take them out for a spin every now and again; but I can just as easily turn my big radio down to 5 watts. I am looking forward to using it in the upcoming Winter Field Day. 73 de Scott

Winter Wonderland

I woke up this morning to fresh snow on the ground. I had the same excitement as I did as a kid. I got dressed and went on my daily 4 mile walk—in the snow while it was snowing. It was glorious, I remembered playing in the snow as a child and backpacking in it as a young adult. I also remember the grueling Army Field Training Exercises (FTX) in German winters. I have seen cold winters, my coldest was somewhere between -20 to -30 degrees F. Winters can be fun, and they can be dangerous. The most dangerous winter is like what we are seeing today on NW Georgia. Snow with freezing rain and temps hovering around freezing. For driving, this means ice on the roads and sometimes ice covered with snow. Drivers unaware that they are driving on ice lose traction and control of the vehicle. Often they are unaware they have lost control until it’s too late. I have driven cars, trucks, military vehicles, and 18 wheelers on snow and ice covered roads. Only through training and experience did I survive those encounters.

These conditions are also conducive to personal physical injuries such as immersion foot, frost nip, frost bite and hypothermia. Being cold and wet by itself may not kill you, but cold and wet, coupled with inexperience will. This blog post is not necessarily about amateur radio, but about operating amateur radio outside in these conditions. Using my 4 mile walk today, I will lay out what I wore and why.

Let’s start with EDC. EDC is Every Day Carry which for me is every time I leave the house I have these items on my. Here is what I carry Every Day.

Knife – Benchmade Bugout. I love this knife. It is the perfect size and
weight. I resides in a pocket on my cell phone holster.

Bandanna

Pen


Lighter – Zippo with a butane insert. I used to carry a Bic Flic but because it is so light, it would fall out of my pocket when I retrieved other items. I do not have this issue with the Zippo

Cord – 10-12 feet of 1/16” 100 lb test cord.

Car keys with a bottle opener

Cell Phone

Necklace with:
P38 can opener (from my army days)
Olight i1Reos flashlight. This is an amazing little light.
Dog tag with emergency contact info and medical insurance info

Wallet with:
Cash, Credit Cards and ID
Signal Mirror
Fresnel lens – for reading and fire starting
A couple of bandaids
Victorinox Swiss Card.

Other items may be added as necessary such as self-defense items or electronics to support blogging/vlogging and radio gear.

Clothing. Starting from the inside out. My undergarments are a mesh top with a bottoms made from 60% cotton and 40% polyester. The next layer was a Carhartt Force Cotton Tee shirt 65% cotton/35% polyester, and Levi blue jeans. I wore Darn Tough wool socks (I wear these year round) and Solomon XA Goretex trail shoes.

My next layer was an Eddie Bauer fleece pullover I got cheap from Sam’s Wholesale. It is 100% polyester. On top of that I wore a cheap Amazon Basics lightweight fleece vest again 100% polyester.

My outer layer was a Carhartt stocking cap 100% acrylic. A TurtleFur neck tube (polyester). Cotton Jersey Gloves and a British SAS Windproof Smock (50-50% Cotton Polyester (unlined and uninsulated). Through the rain/Sleet/Snow I remained warm and dry. My Smock got quite damp but the hydrophobic nature of my under layers and the heat I generated kept the moisture to the outside. If I wore one of my Goretex jackets, I would have been soaked in sweat as Goretex is not as breathable as the smock is.

While walking, I was warm enough to have to unzip my smock and my vest. My gear would have kept me warm down into the teens. I tend to dress one layer warmer than I need. In this case I added the vest. There is a myth that “cotton kills” It’s not the cotton, it’s the operator. Most military uniforms are about 50% cotton. My days in the Army go back to the BDU which is made from Nyco or 50% cotton/50% nylon. I wore that uniform from very hot to very cold and I lived to tell about it. Know your gear, know how it works in different conditions. How does it perform when wet. What I wore today was perfect. My smock got damp, my gloves got damp, but inside I was warm and dry. I walk year round and I walk in most weather conditions. I know how my clothes work. I made myself a promise when I got out of the Army, and that was I would only be cold and wet when I wanted to be. To date, that has not happened. Get outside, try your gear, know what to wear for different conditions. Be safe. Be especially safe when your community needs you. 73 de Scott

A new day. A new year

With 2024 drawing to a close, I felt it was time for reflection. For my household, it was disruptive. It started out with Mary’s ex husband suddenly getting sick and then dying. He is the father of my stepchildren, Mary and the kids stayed in contact with him throughout the years. She made 3 trips to Texas while I stayed home and took care of our special needs daughter.

Shortly after that, she decided she needed a hip replaced. She got scheduled for surgery a week after her examination. She had to spend 4 days in the hospital and then several months recuperating. I was doing the heavy lifting in more ways than one.

During the winter we had a very cold spell which killed about 14 50-60 foot tall pine trees. I had to bring these down with a chain saw. It took some doing as I had to make sure they fell in the right direction. They had to fall into my open field and not in the woods possibly creating widow-makers. Because of the danger involved, Mary at least wanted to be present to watch me in case something bad happened—it didn’t. I put her in out UTV so she could keep an eye on me while she continued to recuperate.

We saw the great eclipse of 2024. We were in the 85% coverage range. In reality we didn’t see that big of change. It was fun to witness it though.

This summer we had a big family reunion. We rented a huge cabin in Tennessee where we all stayed for 4 days. It was a lot of fun, but it was exhausting. It was good to see all my kids and grandkids in one location.

We saw two major hurricanes hit the southeast with Hurricane Helene doing damage in North Carolina that will take years for recovery. Fortunately, the hurricane’s path just missed us.

Amateur radio had its own shakeup in my world. After 26 years of EmComm with my church, I decided it was time to do something else. I felt the program was getting a little stale and I was getting a little stale with the program. I have since joined US Army MARS and SHARES. I am enjoying both. I have let my CW skills trail off some. At the beginning of the year I enrolled in a CW class called CW Innovations or CWI. They helped me get my code speed up. With everything that was going on with me, something had to give and it ended up being amateur radio and CW. This included most of my camping trips.

I have been retired now for a little over year and while it has been a hectic year, I still enjoy retirement. I stay busy. Looking toward the new year, I am hoping to get back to some kind of normal. So far I have winter field day with my club in January and Hamcation in February. I plan on camping in March, April and May. I have yet to make the reservations. With MARS and SHARES there is a digital component so I will work on keeping those skills current. These nets have a specific protocol and run very efficiently. It takes some getting used to, but these are some of the best nets I have been on. CW was pushed to the side but hopefully I will get back on the paddles this upcoming year. The new year holds no promises of being any better than this past year, it is my hope it will be better.

On a final note, I wish to thank all of my supporters who have stuck with me during this past tulmulteous year. I wish you all the best with a safe and prosperous New Year. God Bless and 73—de Scott

What I ride!

“What a long, strange trip its been” a line from the Grateful Dead’s song Truckin’. This was one of those years for me. The beginning of 2024 started off normally — until Mary, my wife needed to have a hip replaced. Her recuperation went well, slow but well. That put a back log on things that needed to be done on the home and property.

November was my one year anniversary of retirement. I discovered that there were way more rabbit holes to go down and far too many “squirrels” that filled up my days. I was busy doing a lot of things, but this past month or so I started asking myself am I doing the right things?

I enjoy writing. In my professional life writing was a good part of it. Some of my work is published in a federal handbook. Writing is my creative outlet; I can’t draw (or cursive handwrite), and I am only a mediocre guitar player. I do sing solo — so low no one can hear me. In my retirement, I have done very little writing. I feel the pain. Work provided me with topics and content to write about, but in retirement, I was a ship without a rudder. Becalmed in a sea non-creative web-surfing, youtube sargasso, I was doomed to sink in the Bermuda Triangle of failure.

I can fix this; I can repair the rudder, start the motor, and navigate back to fair seas. I had to give myself a topic. I decided to write a book. I know in the movies, actors sit down behind a typewriter and bang out novel right before your eyes. For us mere mortals, it is not that easy. There is planning involved. Writing a book of 80,000 words is very different than writing a blog of 500.

This required some changes. I moved into a Mac machine. I have no qualms with Windows 11. The computer I use for radio is a windows machine. At issue are the apps in Windows. I find them clunky and disruptive when I am in a creative mood. The Mac environment and its asssociated apps are more elegant, they get out of your way and let you concentrate on content. Apple products are designed to work together. I can create on my Mac, iPhone and iPad, and easily switch between them. An analogy I use is a computer should be like a hammer. You pick it up, you use it — bang! If you have a hammer where you have to fiddle with the head each time you use it, you soon have a new hammer.

I am still setting things up to get ready to write. I have some reading to do, some new apps to get used to, but I am almost there. One issue I have is making sure I have enough time, and enough time at the right time of day to write. I need to introduce a little discipline back into my life. The current book I am reading is Getting Things Done by David Allen. It has been a big help in getting me back on track.

Where’s KK4Z? A question I often ask myself on this blog. I’m here and I am busy with radio, just a different busy. Living in Georgia, I was close to Hurricanes Helene and Milton. They affected friends. I have been involved in EmComm for 26 out of the almost 30 years of my involvment in amateur radio. In the past I have deployed to actual disasters, but as my wife and I age, going to a disaster is becoming less of a reality. I also took a look at POTA and what I was doing there. I have over 10,000 contacts in POTA and most of those are the same thing. I quick exchange and on to the next one. I need to do something else. I need to better serve my communities. I will still do POTA and some SOTA, it is fun, but I need to get back into public service. I have recently joined US Army MARS and SHARES (SHAed RESources HF radio program). Both are federal government sponsored programs. With both programs I keep my operations within FEMA Region 4 (Southeast United States). I also participate with my local ARES group. I maintain my position as an Official Emergency Station with the ARRL.

Retirement is a new world, a new beginning. You can either grab the bull by the horns, or lay down and die. I still want some adventure in my life, though it won’t be as hair raising as it was in my youth. If you still want a little gusto in your life you need to “Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome” (US Marines). 73 – de Scott

Letting Go

I’ve been retired almost a year now and I have enjoyed it. With retirement comes age and with age comes “stuff”. Until you reach retirement, you really don’t know what it is really going to look like. I’ve had some discoveries along the way.

Time. You think you will have time to do everything you thought you were going to do. For me this was a case of my eyes being much bigger than my stomach. Over the past year, I have been paring down my list to about a half a dozen activities, amateur radio being one of them.

Money. In retirement I do not make as much money as I used to. My wife and I are not eating Alpo, we are living quite well, but I can feel the reduced spending power. I have to give a little more thought to how I spend my money.

Age Related. Getting older means your body starts slowing down. More trips to the doctor, more preventative care, reduced ability. I led a pretty active life with 8.5 years in the U.S. Army and 20 years in the trades. I am now on the receiving end of all that wear and tear. Things hurt. I have to think more about how I do things and for how long I can do something. I still walk about 100 miles a month but power lifting at the gym is out. Coming to grips with your body not doing the things it used to do can be a humbling experience. Getting old is not for the weak.

My wife and I are spending more time taking care of each other and our special needs daughter. This means more time at home. Writing this, I am at the back side of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. I had a strong desire to go, 20 years ago I would have left in a heartbeat. Today, my responsibilities have changed. In any EmComm or disaster situation, the first rule, is always take care of your family first. It is a good rule and a smart one. It is the rule that is helping me to let go. While I may not deploy anymore, there are still things that can be done at home. I have a good home station and just added an SPE Expert 2K-FA amp which is MARS modified. I can comfortably run digital up to 1 kW. This mission hasn’t gone away, it has changed. Plus, I can still do the occasional POTA activation when I find time between all the other things I do. Stay safe and enjoy life. 73 de – Scott